Giving two week notice...

Published

So I've finally secured a home health position and am ready to submit my 2 week notice to my nurse manager. My (silly) question. My two week notice will be over my two week vacation. Is that ok to do? I won't technically have a last day worked. I'm just trying to word my formal letter. I won't come back to the hospital from vacation.

Specializes in retired LTC.

Just to add another ingredient to the pot ---anybody here an at-will employee? Many facilities will use this status as they please to their advantage. It can work both ways.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
i think it's perfectly fine. the point of the two week notice basically is so they can find someone to replace you.why does it matter if you're working or on vacation while they're working on your replacement?
It DOES matter because if the resigning nurse on vacation , the unit is already running short. It's unprofessional to give this type of notice.
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MDS/ UR.

The magic standard seems to be a month- alot of places have what they require written into their employee handbooks.

My current employer only requests 2 weeks.

So check your handbook for the 'official' answer.

I don't see a problem with 2 weeks if it is what is fornally requested.

I see a big issue with giving notice and going on vacation. No matter how it shakes out, it is going to look shadey.

You may not get your vacation paid out under those circumstances.

What should you do? I am not sure how to advise as there are too many personal unknowns to answer.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Just to add another ingredient to the pot ---anybody here an at-will employee? Many facilities will use this status as they please to their advantage. It can work both ways.

That is true...but right now it's an employers' market. Gone are the days of facilities fighting over nurses or worrying how to retain them: employers know that if they let someone go, they can fill the position rapidly...and sometimes even with someone who'd work for less money or no benefits.

So it does go both ways, but right now the nurse has the disadvantage. That's why that even though the OP has a job, many of us are suggesting they not burn bridges and leave on the best terms possible.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If HR requires two weeks, that is all you have to give.

Check with HR and see if you can use vacation as your notice.

Some places do not allow that, the notice has to actually be worked, otherwise it is considered to be leaving without notice.

You may find that you have to cancel your vacation and work instead in order to give the two week notice.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If you are planning on giving your two weeks I would just speak to the manager and explain to them. Everyone must move on sometime..you do what is right for you. I had to do the same thing on a short notice and it made me feel terrible but I have a family to think about. Good Luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The two weeks' notice is the time during which you are WORKING your regularly-scheduled shifts, for those two weeks, while they are looking for your replacement. You will be short-staffing them if you decide to NOT work those regular shifts instead--which is, in effect, leaving NOW, not in two weeks. Getting a paycheck for another two weeks does not mean you have fulfilled your obligation to give them time to replace you.

Last place I worked had a policy that stated that notice was to be the equivalent of the number of weeks of vacation the employee had; that is, someone with three weeks' vacation would be expected to give three weeks' notice.

If anyone did not work all of their scheduled days prior to the final date of employment, the company was permitted to keep unused vacation days as compensation for your lost productivity (and their need to pay a PRN to fill your shift, etc). Additionally, no personal days or vacation days could be included in those final weeks, or they would deduct benefit time from final paycheck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.
i see that people are saying it isn't professional and the boss might not like it or might not give her a reference later...etc, etc.

i still don't see the logic behind that. WHY?

HOW does it create a burden on anyone? i'm not seeing that.

i would talk to the manager to be safe since apparently people think it's "unprofessional" to be at the beach instead of on the floor while your manager replaces you. the manager might feel that way also, or she might not.

To me, it is like saying to your manager" Hello, I will be leaving in 2 weeks, and I am going on vacation now. Hope you get it all done straight while I am gone. I am actually done working/quitting now, and I can't be any help, sorry. Bye."

That's how unprofessional it sounds to me. It can very well burn bridges. I would be offended if I was the manager.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i don't think that's true.

when a person goes on vacation that doesn't mean they are "short staffing" their unit.

it's the manger's responsibility to make sure the nurse's shifts are covered while he/she is on vacation, medical leave, or whatever the case may be.

the mentality that, "you can go on vacation and have a nice time with your family.....but just remember you are leaving your workplace short staffed" is just STUPID!

i know several nurses who get paid very well working for a "float pool" and it is their very job to fill in gaps....if the gaps aren't already covered by nurses who want to pick up extra shifts.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
i don't think that's true.

when a person goes on vacation that doesn't mean they are "short staffing" their unit.

it's the manger's responsibility to make sure the nurse's shifts are covered while he/she is on vacation, medical leave, or whatever the case may be.

the mentality that, "you can go on vacation and have a nice time with your family.....but just remember you are leaving your workplace short staffed" is just STUPID!

i know several nurses who get paid very well working for a "float pool" and it is their very job to fill in gaps....if the gaps aren't already covered by nurses who want to pick up extra shifts.

Doesn't matter if it causes actual harm or not, it's all about perception and professionalism. If you cannot see why it is seen as offensive and unprofessional on your own then we cannot change your mind. It's like trying to argue why it is offensive and unprofessional to flip your manager off, the action does not actually cause harm but it is perceived as a slight.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
To me, it is like saying to your manager" Hello, I will be leaving in 2 weeks, and I am going on vacation now. Hope you get it all done straight while I am gone. I am actually done working/quitting now, and I can't be any help, sorry. Bye."

That's how unprofessional it sounds to me. It can very well burn bridges. I would be offended if I was the manager.

to me....it is like saying to your manager, "you know i'm going on vacation, and i know you have staffing covered during that time. i need to tell you that i have also been offered another position which i have accepted. here is my notice. i will not be available as of july 1, 2012 but i'm sure you'll find someone to replace me during that two week time frame. is that a problem? if it is, let me know and i may be able to work something out."

if you want to get downright technical about "professionalism" then i would say that giving your manager a notice shouldn't come as a surprise. i have resigned from a job (on good terms) after several back and forths of "maybe i should just resign" and "no, i don't want you to." finally, i said, "my plan is to work here while i look for another position. when i find another position, i will give you proper notice," and my manager was fine with that. any good manager would be considering prospects if they knew nurses might be leaving (and even if they don't know....they should always be prepared).

so, i might say it's "unprofessional" to be actively seeking employment and hiding it from your manager.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Doesn't matter if it causes actual harm or not, it's all about perception and professionalism. If you cannot see why it is seen as offensive and unprofessional on your own then we cannot change your mind. It's like trying to argue why it is offensive and unprofessional to flip your manager off, the action does not actually cause harm but it is perceived as a slight.

yet nobody can answer the question of how it's unprofessional...why it's unprofessional...and nobody has piped up to say, "i did that and it was a bad decision," or "i had an employee do that and it affected me in X manner."

the whole purpose of giving a notice is so the manager has time to fill your spot on the schedule. until someone can tell me...until ANYONE can tell me how being on vacation has an impact on the manager's ability to fill that spot....there is no logic as to why it's "unprofessional."

comparing something like "flipping your manager off" which has some logic behind it (the bird = F you) to someone giving a two week notice during a time their shift will be covered is like comparing apples to oranges....the differences are obvious.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion